6 ways to watch televised news without paying for cable or satellite TV

Being able to watch the news is one of the biggest reasons people stay tethered to an expensive pay-TV subscription. In a recent Comscore survey, 58 percent of subscribers said the news was important to their viewing habits—more than any other TV category.

But nowadays, you don’t need a cable TV package to stay informed. If anything, streaming video is a better way to keep up with the news, offering more choices and broader perspectives compared to the big cable-news networks. And in many cases, you don’t have to pay a dime.

Read on for the best ways to watch the round-the-clock news without a big channel bundle.

When you’re trying to catch up on world news, sometimes it’s nice to get the non-American perspective (or, at the very least, to take a break from the sensory overload of U.S. cable-news networks). You have a few options here, all of which offer live streaming around the clock:

Sky News:Global news out of the United Kingdom, with an occasional dip into U.K. politics. [Web, iOS, Android, Roku, Android TV, Fire TV]

One of the best things about the Internet is its ability to personalize. Instead of watching a traditional live stream, why not create your own newscast from a variety of sources? Here are a few of the best options:

Watchup: Pick your favorite news sources and topics, and WatchUp stitches together a daily newscast. You can tweak it further by giving a thumbs up or down to individual stories. [iOS, Android, Fire TV]

Class6ix News: Similar to WatchUp, but with a website and Android TV support. It creates a newscast from your favorite sources, as well as local news. [Web, Android, iOS, Android TV]

I recently called Pluto.tv the best cord-cutting app you’re not using, and that’s especially true for watching the news. Pluto currently offers 11 streaming news “channels,” strung together from various web video sources. There’s a channel for mainstream news brands like CNN and CBS, and another for web properties such as Vox and Mental Floss. You can even enjoy some niche news channels, including one for investigative reporting, and another for tech news. [Web, iOS, Android, Fire TV, Android TV]

Unfortunately, none of the major cable-news networks offer free live streaming channels without a pay-TV subscription. Your only option—albeit one that’s not exactly above board—is to borrow a cable login from a friend or family member to get streaming access to CNN, Fox News, and MSNBC in a few ways: